The Martini

Presenting the venerable Martini:

• 1.5 ounces dry London gin
• 1.5 ounces French dry vermouth
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1 lemon twist

Stir the gin and vermouth vigorously and long in a tall glass filled with ice (or an actual martini pitcher). Add the orange bitters. Strain into a “martini” cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive.

Okay, it is easy to argue that there isn’t a cocktail more classic than the Martini, and it is also easy to argue about how to make a Martini. The recipe above comes from a bar in Barcelona, Spain, called Dry Martini. It was one of the best Martinis I’ve ever had, so I decided to recreate it at home.

Ritz Sidecar

A cocktail I won’t make, it’s the Ritz Sidecar:

• 5 parts very old cognac
• 3 parts Cointreau
• 2 parts fresh lemon juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, strain tremulously into a chilled cocktail glass, and stare at the treasure in rapt silence for a full fifteen seconds before quaffing.

By “very old cognac” he means at least pre-Phylloxera cognac. Phylloxera is an aphid-like insect that was brought to Europe from grape vines in America. The American vines had resistance to it, but the European vines were devastated. While I’ve never had cognac that old, I’ve been told that many people believe it was better than that produced today. The real cognac snob wants pre-Oidium cognac. Oidium, from what I can tell, was a form of powdery mildew that caused damage to French vines starting in 1854 before Phylloxera came along to finish the job.

The Soother

Aptly named, it’s The Soother:

• 1.0 ounce cognac
• 1.0 ounce Jamaican rum (Coruba recommended)
• 0.5 ounce orange curaçao
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon apple juice
• 1/2 teaspoon simply syrup (or Agave Nectar)

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a goblet. Garnish with a fancy lemon twist.

There is a lot going on in this drink. It’s listed in a book called Old Waldorf Bar Days from 1931, but it wasn’t listed in the cocktail section but instead in one called “Fancy Potations & Otherwise”. In any case, it is tasty.

The Coffee Cocktail

No coffee, but you will find port in The Coffee Cocktail:

• 1 ounce brandy (Martell works well)
• 1 egg
• 2 to 3 ounces ruby port
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Pour brandy into an iced cocktail shaker. Add the egg. Pour in the port and sugar. Shake and strain into a small goblet. Grate or shake some nutmeg on top.

This is the second cocktail in the book to feature port (the other being the Chatham Hotel Special). I was kind of dreading this one, as it doesn’t contain the things I look for in a cocktail, which tend to be gin or bourbon, fruit juice and bitters. But I did have the perfect glass for it.

The Brandy Crusta

A precursor to the Margarita is The Brandy Crusta:

• 1 lemon
• 0.5 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Bar or table sugar
• 2.0 ounces cognac (Hennessy specified)
• 1 teaspoon orange curaçao (Marie Brizard specified)
• 1 dash Boker’s Bitters (or substitute Angostura

Cut the lemon in half. Pare the full peel off half, and squeeze the juice from the lemon. Moisten the glass rim with the lemon juice, and dip it in bar or table sugar. Insert a lemon peel into the glass, Mix the liquors in a cocktail shaker of crushed ice. Shake, and strain into the prepared glass. Add 1 small lump of ice, and serve.

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Curaçao Punch

A old one from 1882, it’s Curaçao Punch:

• 0.5 tablespoon sugar (alter to taste)
• 2 or 3 dashes of fresh lemon juice
• 1.0 ounce soda water
• 1.0 ounce brandy (Martell cognac specified)
• 2.0 ounces orange curaçao
• 1.0 ounce Jamaican rum (full-bodied specified)

In a bar glass or goblet, combine the sugar, lemon juice, and soda water. Dissolve the sugar, and fill a glass with finely shaved or thoroughly crushed ice. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir well, and ornament as Liberace might with all the fruit at your disposal.

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Chatham Hotel Special

Another cocktail featuring dairy, it’s the Chatham Hotel Special:

• 1.5 ounces brandy
• 0.5 ounce ruby port
• 0.5 cream
• 1 dash dark creme de cacao

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a small cocktail glass.

I like the name of this cocktail because I live in Chatham County, North Carolina, and you don’t see the word “Chatham” all that often (I always have to add it to my spell checkers). It was named after a now gone hotel in New York City.